


Make It or Break It

by MiracAlice (AliceTheBookGirl)



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Ancient China talk, Ancient Egypt talk, Balance of the universe stuff, Episode: s03 Caméléon | Chameleon, F/M, Gen, I'm taking a crack at it, Identity Reveal, Integration of other S3 episodes, Probably will have, bc why not, but more like salted caramel, miraculous lore, ml salt fic, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-08
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2019-11-13 17:07:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18035675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AliceTheBookGirl/pseuds/MiracAlice
Summary: As the Kwami of Creation, Tikki is often paired with Ladybugs who have a knack for building people up.(Though Tikki hopes Marinette remembers to build herself up a bit more.)As the Kwami of Destruction, Plagg takes glee in Chat Noirs with the talent to tear people down.(Though he doesn’t mind that Adrien just humbles them instead.)In other words, Marinette and Adrien team up and use these qualities to take down Lila, but still kinda stay in character while doing so. You'll see what I mean.Oh, and they might learn how to keep balance in the universe while they’re at it. No biggie.





	1. Break It

**Author's Note:**

> So the creation and destruction concept has been a thing on my mind for a while now and might appear in my other fics. As for this fic in general, I kinda just wrote it to de-stress from school stuff. I have vague ideas of where it's going, but I don't have an end in mind yet. 
> 
> So feel free to give this a read and let me know your thoughts! 
> 
> (P.S. I copied and pasted some dialogue straight from the episode. Just letting you know in case it seemed way too familiar. Consider this my citation.)

“Right ear? Did she say  _ right _ ear? This morning she said that the ringing was in her left ear! I've got her this time!” 

Marinette shot up from her seat on the stairs and prepared to march over to that lying liar. A voice stopped her though. 

“Are you going to tell everyone?” 

She looked to the side to see Adrien staring thoughtfully at their classmates crowded around Lila. 

Marinette responded incredulously. “Of course I am! Lila is a—” 

“A liar,” Adrien finished matter-of-factly. “Yes, I know.” 

Marinette raised an eyebrow, wondering where he was going with this. He finally turned to look at her. 

“But do you really think exposing her—” 

Something in the universe told Marinette to brace herself. 

“—in that way will make things better?” 

Letting out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding, she conveyed her confusion. “Eh?” 

“Calling her out in front of everyone will just humiliate her. She’ll be hurt more than anything.” 

“But she’ll learn to stop lying.” 

“Making a bad guy suffer never turns them into a good guy.” 

Marinette paused. Adrien had a point. Her every attempt to publicly expose Lila always backfired and Ladybug’s every attempt to appeal to the girl’s morals only ever happened after a defeat, which was usually the time when a victim’s shame and confusion was quite high. 

That was why Ladybug and Chat Noir tried to stay long enough after a fight to reassure and comfort the victims before having to leave. 

But that left Marinette between a rock and a hard place. 

“What do you suggest we do then? Take some ‘high road’ and just let her continue on this path? No matter how small, lies can really hurt people, Adrien.” 

Adrien broke from his calm demeanor and immediately backpedaled. He waved his hands in front of himself. “No! No, of course we won’t just do nothing.” He fell quiet for a moment, pursing his lips as he thought about something. Marinette had never seen such an expression before and she was captivated. She could stare at him all day…  

But she zoned back in when Adrien spoke again. 

“What if…” He rubbed his chin in contemplation. “What if we counter her lies with something else?” 

“Adrien, you’re going to have to keep explaining. I’m not exactly following.” She loved the boy, but good lord, the communication between them could use some work if a relationship was going to happen. 

(She disregarded the fact that she was being a hypocrite. Curse her awkward stumbling and bumbling.) 

“Her lies work well when she has a lot of attention on herself and even better when someone outright challenges her. It brings people to her side. I’m thinking that maybe we should focus on anything  _ other  _ than Lila. Appeal to our classmates’ other traits, you know?” 

Marinette’s eyes widened as she understood. “You’re a genius, Adrien!” How could she love this boy even more than she already did? “And I have the perfect way to do it.” 

As Marinette shared her plan, there was something familiar in the way the two shared a smirk. 

… 

When they entered the classroom together, Adrien noticed how all of their classmates were paired with the people they most got along with. It wasn’t something he realized that morning, but now it made perfect sense. No one would actually be opposed to the seat change if they were given something they wanted. Everyone except Adrien and Marinette that is… 

Adrien nudged Marinette to get her attention and tilted his head toward Ms. Bustier while making some vague motions with his hands. He smiled when it seemed she understood what he was intending. 

“Ms. Bustier?” Adrien began. 

Their teacher smiled kindly at them. “Yes, Adrien? Do you and Marinette need something?” 

“This is sort of something I brought up to Marinette and she agreed we should talk with you about it. You see, this morning I agreed to help Lila catch up with schoolwork because it seemed like the right thing to do. But after thinking about it more, my schedule is really full every week and it would be very difficult for me to stay on top of my own studies. If my father sees my grades slip even a little he’ll pull me out of school.” 

“Adrien gives his all in everything he does that I sometimes get a little concerned for his health and well-being,” Marinette continued. Adrien blushed a little happily when he heard that. Marinette was really too kind and he was so grateful to have her as a friend. “I think your meditation classes were a great idea, Ms. Bustier, and it certainly got everyone in the class to think more about their mental health among other things. I, for one, really appreciate how much you care about us.” 

Adrien would’ve thought Marinette was laying it on a bit thick, but her tone was so sincere that he believed her words wasn’t mere brown-nosing. He actually did believe her words to be true. 

Ms. Bustier must’ve thought the same thing as she put a hand on her heart and said, “Oh, Marinette, of course. I’m always happy to do all that. Now, considering Adrien went to you first about this issue, I assume that as the class representative you have some ideas for a solution?” 

Marinette clasped her hands behind herself and straightened her back, looking more serious. Adrien adored when his friend showed how she could take charge. 

“As a matter of fact, I do. Perhaps we can confer with Lila on the times after school that work best for her and we can reserve a study room in the library. The class can then collectively take turns—individually or as a group—to go over the material with Lila while also using it as an opportunity to review what we’ve learned so far. I believe it’s a bit unfair to put tutoring responsibilities on Adrien alone, while also putting him on the spot. This way, he can join to the degree he is comfortable with and when his schedule allows it.” 

Ms. Bustier nodded thoughtfully. “I see. Well, Marinette, I think this is a wonderful idea that you’ve brought up. As expected of our hard-working class representative.” 

Adrien was sure he was beaming as much as his friend. Sadly though, when he caught her eye, she suddenly became bashful and curled in on herself a bit, her cheeks turning pink and her gaze dropping to the floor. Before Adrien could ask what was wrong, she scurried to her new seat in the back of the class. 

Marinette gazed out the window (perhaps to avoid his own) which allowed Adrien to stare at her interrupted. 

He didn’t know what had suddenly happened to have her run away, but she looked like a forlorn angel, sitting so high up and far away from his own seat. 

Not realizing the soft look his face took, Adrien made a split decision. 

… 

“Lila?” 

“Here.” 

“Adrien?” 

“Present.” 

Out of the corner of her eye, Lila glared at the annoying pig-tailed girl who seemed to be discussing something with Adrien under their breaths. The two were slightly leaned towards one another which irritated Lila all the more. 

“Marinette?” 

“Uh, here!” 

Ms. Bustier had clearly seen the seat change, maybe knew of it before Adrien sat down, considering the two were just speaking to her about something. Gritting her teeth, Lila tried to think up something that would force Adrien back to the front but was too late as Ms. Bustier was finally quickly finished with role call and promptly began the lesson. 

Marinette was trying to drag Adrien into some sort of plot, Lila had no doubt about that. It was unfortunate that Adrien was already aware of her lying tendencies. Getting back into his good graces to the point that he would believe her lies was unlikely to happen anytime soon. It seemed she would have to back him into a corner. 

He was her prize. But he was also now the enemy. 

***** 

“Catch you later, Marinette.” 

Marinette waved as Nino and Alya took off in the opposite direction. When she turned around to head towards her own home however, she bumped into someone. She was about to apologize when she realized who it was. 

“I see you've made your decision Marinette,” Lila stated. She leaned in to whisper threateningly into Marinette’s ear. “From now on, you and I are at war. You will lose your friends and wind up all alone and Adrien will soon be mine.” 

From her position, Lila couldn’t see it, but Marinette caught someone’s eye over the other girl’s shoulder. Confidence surged through Marinette as she placed a hand on Lila’s shoulder and slowly but firmly pushed the girl away. 

She patted that same shoulder patronizingly as she replied, “We’ll see about that, Lila.” 

Marinette didn’t bother looking at Lila as she walked past her, instead joining Adrien who had been standing at the bottom of the stairs mere feet away. Glancing to the side, Marinette spotted Adrien looking over his shoulder with a most devious smirk. 

It was so uncannily familiar that Marinette didn’t think when she lightly smacked Adrien in the chest and admonished him through a laugh. “Bad kitty!” 

“You should’ve seen her face when she realized I heard everything!” he whisper-shouted at her. Then he paused. “Wait. Did you call me ‘kitty’?” 

Marinette squeaked something incoherent and quickly glanced back to where Lila had been, seeing that the girl had turned and walked away long ago. Since Marinette was not at risk of spoiling a perfectly badass exit, she squeaked something once more at Adrien before she made a dash for home. 

Adrien was left to stand alone near the car that would take him home, gaping in confusion as Plagg’s muffled laughter drifted from his shirt. 


	2. Build It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What exactly is Marinette and Adrien's plan? Well, if you don't know, it starts now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm currently in class, anxiety growing as we get closer to the presentation I have to give. I figured I'd post this nonsense to try and calm down but I'm not sure if it's working. 
> 
> I typed most of this up on my phone and I did minimal proofreading so forgive me for any mistakes you find. 
> 
> Anyway, I've watched Animaestro. Anyone else watched it and have thoughts?

The next day, Adrien entered the school courtyard to see his classmates once again surrounding Lila as she told her tales. Before he could walk closer to look for Nino, someone crashed into his back.

“Oh, good morning, Marinette!”

“Eek! Guh, uh, good morning, Adrien!”

Adrien picked up the backpack that had fallen off Marinette’s shoulders and offered to carry it for her. He couldn’t really make out what she was trying to say, but he took it as a yes.

They then approached their classmates.

“Even superheroes need connections around the city. I help them out when I can. One time, I helped deal the final blow on an akuma. Without me there, who knows if Ladybug and Chat Noir could have defeated them?”

Sensing movement beside him, Adrien turned and saw Marinette step forward. Alya, who was nearby, seemed to notice too, if the wry look she gave Marinette was any indication.

Huh. Adrien wondered if there was something going on between them.

He dismissed the thought for the moment as Marinette spoke up.

“You know, I think I remember hearing about how Alix and Nathaniel helped out Ladybug and Chat Noir too.” She moved closer and put an arm around Alix and Nathaniel each. She laughingly said, “Weren’t the heroes a bit useless that day when they got hit by—what was his name, Reverser?—Reverser’s powers? I saw a video somewhere where Alix even took over for Ladybug!”

It was subtle, but Adrien saw a shift in everyone’s focus. He smiled secretly to himself. It seemed it _was_ possible to steal attention away from the “amazing” Lila.

Nathaniel blushed and looked flustered. Alix just seemed pleasantly surprised.

“Hey, you remember that? That was like months ago,” she tried to play it off, but Adrien saw through it. Alix seemed a little smug about it, which Adrien couldn’t blame her for. He vaguely remembered being a totally lame coward that day. Truly, not his best Chat moment.

“I didn’t do all that much compared to Alix,” Nathaniel argued. “I was just conveniently there.”

“That’s amazing!” Rose exclaimed. “The fact that you were able to help at all… You must have been so brave!” She swooned.

Alix grinned and flashed a victory sign.

Alya piped up. “I remember now. Reverser was Marc, and he was after Nathaniel and Marinette, right?”

“Pretty dope that you let yourself be bait for the plan, bro,” Nino praised.

Juleka mumbled something that sounded like, “Wicked cool.”

Adrien saw Lila glower at Marinette, unbeknownst to the others. She finally got up and said her piece.

“And where were _you_ , Marinette?” Her tone changed from accusatory to saccharine compassion. “It’s completely understandable though that you would try and stay safe from an akuma that’s targeting you. I would hate to hear that something tragic happened to you while you tried to face a powerful villain. If you ever find yourself in trouble, let me know and I’ll get in touch with Ladybug real quick.”

Some of their classmates smiled in awe at Lila’s supposed selfless concern. It seemed that Lila still held sway over most of their peers. But by the way Alix and Nathaniel smiled appreciatively at Marinette—who kept her full attention on them instead of Lila—Adrien knew their plan was slowly but surely going to work.

…

“So when did the two of you get so buddy-buddy?”

When class was dismissed for lunch, Alya and Nino made their way up to where Marinette and Adrien sat.

Adrien answered in a jolly tone. “Marinette seemed kind of lonely yesterday and we all sort of pushed her to the back without even telling her.”

Was it Marinette’s imagination, or did Alya wince a little at that?

“And since everyone else was already keeping Lila company the whole day, I decided to sit up here.”

Alya seemed to struggle with words. “Well, Adrien, doesn’t that mean you ditched Lila to be up here?” She glanced at Marinette, as if expecting there to be some ulterior motive behind all this.

(Well there was, but it probably wasn’t quite what Alya was thinking.)

Adrien looked sheepish as he rubbed the back of his neck. He looked off to the side as if ashamed (Marinette guiltily thought it was adorable) as he admitted, “The thing is, it’s been hard to focus in class. I don’t think I can keep up with my own work while trying to catch Lila up.”

Alya and Nino looked surprised, as if not realizing until that moment that even someone who loved everything about school like Adrien could have too much schoolwork on his plate.

“Dude,” Nino muttered, “I…I’m so sorry for totally not thinking about that. I thought you and Lila agreed on the tutoring thing way beforehand.”

Adrien shook his head. “I guess everyone automatically thought that was the plan because when Lila brought it up was the first time I ever heard of it.”

“But, what is Lila going to do now?” Alya asked. “You did basically just ditch her then. Does she even know?”

Marinette smiled to herself and spoke up. “That’s where we come in, Alya. As class rep, I spoke to Ms. Bustier about it and suggested an after school group review session. Everyone in class would try and contribute some time reviewing material with Lila so no one is put on the spot about tutoring or being behind. As my deputy, would you like to help me set that up?”

Alya looked at Marinette with satisfaction. “Good to see you’re back to your senses, girl. Of course I’d love to help with that.”

Giving her friend a pained smile, Marinette just hummed in agreement.

Adrien raised a questioning brow at her, but she just shook her head, signaling to him that they’d talk later. He nodded back to show he understood.

“See, that!” Alya pointed at the two. “You’ve gotten pretty close in the past twenty-four hours. There’s gotta be something more.”

Marinette froze, not really sure how to answer that. She’d be a hypocrite if she came up with some kind of lie. Luckily, Adrien came to the rescue.

“Hey now, Marinette and I actually have a lot in common!”

 _What? We do?_ Marinette just barely kept her confusion from appearing on her face.

Adrien put an arm around Marinette’s shoulders. “We found out we both like to people-watch, for one thing.” He subtly winked at her.

She realized what he meant. “R-right! It’s a completely different view, sitting up here. We can see everyone else in the classroom and we can also see people at the park through the window. It’s real swell! When you take a step back and just observe, people’s true nature are revealed and it sure is thought-provoking and gloriously fascinating. Very…neat-o torpedo.”

Marinette was dying inside at the weird words that escaped her mouth. But Adrien, gracious angel that he was, just nodded unhesitatingly in agreement. Nino and Alya looked at them oddly.

“Wow. Snazzy,” Alya replied wryly. “Anyway, you two should join us in the cafeteria. Lila was going to tell us about the time she saved Chat Noir when Ladybug was late to a fight. That girl is amazing.”

Marinette grit her teeth but then stopped when she felt Adrien’s hand tighten its grip on her shoulder. She looked at him but he didn’t seem to be aware of what he was doing. His jaw did seem a little tense though. Did something about that story (most likely a lie) about Chat Noir irk him?

“Sorry, guys. I was just going to have lunch with Marinette so she could help me go over the notes for the classes I missed.”

Alya and Nino looked at each other but then shrugged. Alya gave Marinette a subtle thumbs up before saying, “That’s fine. Maybe you guys can join us tomorrow. We’ll just leave now.” She pulled Nino down the steps and out the classroom, despite the boy’s surprised protests.

“Well that was strange,” Adrien remarked.

“Was it?” Marinette nervously tittered. “Seemed like silly typical Alya to me!”

Adrien chuckled. “If you say so.” Despite his words, Marinette felt that he wasn’t going to completely let it go. But she had other things to worry about at the moment.

“Hey, so why’d you call me ‘kitty’ yesterday?”

“What? I called you kitty? Who? Why. I mean—it’s, another way to say ‘buddy’? Like, ‘hey buddy, pal,  _friend_.’” Marinette smiled awkwardly, hoping against all hope that he would believe her.

Of course she’d be hoping for too much. Adrien grinned and leaned close to Marinette, causing her to lean back a little. “C’mon, Marinette. You have got to be…”

His pause caused Marinette to foresee what he would say next and she prepared to groan.

“… _kitten_ me!”

She slapped a hand against her face and did, in fact, groan out loud.

Lord help the boy she loved for she might just strangle him.

…

“I wasn’t _kitten_ when I said I needed to go over some notes.”

Adrien was having a blast shooting out cat pun after cat pun as he and Marinette made their way to the bakery for lunch. He didn’t relent as they accepted some sandwiches from Mr. Dupain and headed up to Marinette’s room, except to make a few baking puns with her father. And why would he? Marinette had given him the perfect excuse to do so without connecting himself too closely to Chat Noir.

And it was really fun bantering with Marinette. It almost felt like he was hanging out with Ladybug.

Marinette groaned for the twenty-seventh time (yes, he was keeping count).

“As long as you stop with the puns!”

Chuckling, Adrien agreed.

“So which notes did you need?” Marinette asked as she flipped through some pages laid out on her computer desk.

A bit distracted from looking around Marinette’s room, Adrien answered, “Just the ones from last week for our literature class.” As always, the room was tastefully covered in soft pinks accented by white and black. And despite her clumsy nature, Marinette kept a very neat and organized living space.

“I’m actually surprised that you were allowed to come over. I almost expected your bodyguard to appear and whisk you away.”

Adrien snorted then slapped a hand over his mouth and nose.

Marinette raised an eyebrow.

Lips twitching, Adrien muttered, “ _Whisk_. Heh.”

Marinette buried her head in her hands and responded with a muffled, “Dork. Poised and composed celebrity model Adrien Agreste is a dork.”

“Hey! You know how many celebrities are dorkier than me?”

Marinette raised her head. “Chat Noir.”

“Yeah?”

Marinette narrowed her eyes at him.

Wait.

Adrien froze.

He answered to the name of Chat Noir while he was Adrien. Crap.

He coughed. “I mean, yeah. What about Chat Noir?”

Only slightly losing her suspicious expression, Marinette said, “He’s a celebrity who’s dorkier than you.”

Mentally sighing in relief, Adrien nodded. “Right. He totally is. Biggest dork on the planet.” He grabbed a sandwich and took a huge bite to hopefully stop himself from saying anything else incriminating.

“Anyway,” Marinette said slowly, “you can borrow my notes to copy them down later, or feel free to take a picture if you want. That might be easier and way faster.”

Doing just that, Adrien was relieved that Marinette was dropping the topic. Maybe he really should stop with the cat puns.

After he finished taking pictures of Marinette’s notes, the two were left in an awkward silence. They had never really hung out with just the two of them with no purpose. Well, this wasn’t necessarily the case, but Adrien liked to think that he was with Marinette at that moment for more reason than just avoiding Lila.

“Um,” Marinette timidly began, “so do you know why your father let you come over?”

Perking up, Adrien eagerly shared the odd events that led to where he was now.

“I called Nathalie to have her ask my father if I could come over to your home. Before I could tell her it was to get your notes, she made this 'ah' sound. And told me she would talk to my father. I didn’t have much hope that he would say yes, but it was only like ten seconds later that Nathalie called back and said I could spend all of our lunch hour at your place.”

“And it’s not usual that you get a quick response?”

“Not really. When I ask to go over to Nino’s, I expect to wait at least half an hour. Probably because my father has a priority of things to finish before he can get to my request.”

“That’s…”

Adrien looked at Marinette. Was she going to pity him? Like so many others do?

She must have seen those questions in his eyes, because she unexpectedly gave him a determined look.

“That’s something you don’t deserve, because what you deserve is all the care and attention and time in the world.”

And that shocked Adrien, that she believed something like that. Marinette—kind, caring, selfless, supportive Marinette—thought someone like him should have those kinds of things from someone like her.

With sparkles in his eyes, Adrien gazed at her and said, “You’re the best friend anyone could ever have, Marinette.”

…

After lunch (which had some more moments of awkward silence, but they got through it), the two headed back to school.

They weren’t expecting much to have changed from the day before (including the part with the akuma, those were unpredictable), so it was to their surprise when they saw Alix waiting for them in the courtyard.

Marinette and Adrien looked at each other. Neither were sure why Alix looked so somber and serious.

Stepping forward, Marinette greeted the other girl. “Hey Alix. Did you need something from us?”

“Yeah.” Alix looked down, seeming to think about what she wanted to say. “Something isn’t adding up, and you two know something about it.” She looked Adrien and then Marinette in the eye.

“I need you to tell me why.”


	3. Stall It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's Alix got to say? Is she a new addition to the Expose Lila team? Or...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope this mess of a chapter fulfills a little of your fanfiction craving today. 
> 
> (Even though I know a lot of you are looking for Oblivio fics lol)

“What are you talking about, Alix?” Marinette asked. They were only near the end of lunch and the plan already seemed to be working too well. She had to make sure she was right about what Alix was saying.

“Lila. Something seems…off about her.”

Adrien cocked his head. “What makes you say that?”

Crossing her arms, Alix gave him an unimpressed look. “Don’t play dumb, Agreste. I know that the both of you know what I’m talking about. Lila has loads of cool stories to tell every time she sees us, but ever since Marinette brought up me and Nath helping out Ladybug, the heroes are all she talks about.”

“That in itself doesn’t seem unusual,” Marinette sighed. She shrugged. “Maybe she’s running out of stories?”

Alix faltered. “I—That could be true…” She shook her head. “But something about the whole situation still feels weird. Do you think Lila doesn’t actually know Ladybug?”

“Technically everyone knows Ladybug,” Marinette snarked. She felt it was only fair that she be a little salty about all things Lila.

“Oh, cut the bullshit, Marinette.” Alix rolled her eyes so hard, Marinette half-expected them to fall out. “Lila’s been talking nonstop about Ladybug and Chat Noir all lunch period and things aren’t really adding up anymore.

“You think she’s lying?” Adrien asked leadingly.

“If she is, then you two have known all along.”

It told Alix everything she needed to know when Marinette and Adrien looked at each other without saying anything.

“Why didn’t either of you say anything?!”

Marinette frowned. “Didn’t I?”

Alix paused. “Well, what did Alya say?”

“…She told me to stop being jealous.”

Both Alix and Adrien looked at her at that, though Alix then shifted her gaze to Adrien and realization dawned on her face.

“Oh.”

“What?” Adrien looked between the girls, quite confused. “Why would Marinette be jealous of Lila? Marinette, you’re the most amazing and incredible person I know.”

Marinette became flustered and tried to thank him or argue with him; she wasn’t exactly sure what was coming out of her mouth anymore.

Alix shook her head. “Okay, back to the main topic. If Alya thinks Marinette is just being unreasonable, then she’ll change her mind if me and Adrien call Lila out, right?”

“We can’t do that,” Adrien chastised. “It would humiliate her and having Lila akumatized _again_ is not going to solve the root of the problem. Besides, if Alya isn’t believing her _own best friend,_ who’s to say the rest of them will believe us?”

“And that’s why it’s up to you and me,” Alix declared. “ _We_ aren’t Marinette, who’s been trying to discredit Lila since day one.”

Marinette gaped a bit at that. She didn’t think Alix had noticed it so closely.

They were interrupted by the simultaneous alarms coming from their phones.

Adrien frowned after checking his phone. “Let’s put a pin on it for now, Alix. Right now I’ve got to, uh, check in with my bodyguard! He didn’t see me all lunch and needs to see me with his own eyes that I’m all good and well!”

And with that he dashed away.

Marinette made sure that by the time Alix turned to her, she would also be long gone.

After all, there was an akuma to catch.

***

“Pound it!”

Chat waved his partner goodbye as she leaped away first, being closer than him to transforming back. He took note of the direction she left and mused of the possibility that she was heading towards the school he attended.

Shaking his head, Chat smiled sadly to himself as he approached the akuma victim to comfort them.

If there was anyone who could be Ladybug at his school, there was only one person who fit the bill. But what were the chances of him being that lucky?

(Or unlucky, depending on how you looked at it. After all, that particular girl was way out of his league.)

When he arrived at the school and transformed back inside an empty supply closet, Adrien peered around the door to see if the coast was clear, only to spot Marinette trying to calm down a furious Alix.

“The nerve of that bitch!”

“Alix!” Marinette gasped, scandalized.

“What? You heard it too. She’s stealing my brother’s work and everyone’s eating it up like candy!”

Adrien frowned in concern and approached his friends.

“What happened?”

Marinette turned to him, confused. “You’re not in class yet? Lunch was over ten minutes ago.”

Panicking, Adrien thought fast. “Er, I was doing the same as you.”

That was the wrong thing to say, Adrien thought, as Marinette leveled a very suspicious and unbelieving look on him. Who knows what she was actually doing. Maybe she was spending the remainder of lunch listening to more of Lila’s tall tales. Or maybe, in some alternate reality, she was fighting crime somewhere in Paris like Ladybug and Chat Noir.

“Oh, really…” she muttered. But then she shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. Right now, we have to get back to class.”

Alix scoffed. “And what are you going to do about Lila?”

Marinette tightly grabbed her friend by the shoulders. “If you’re willing to be patient, Adrien and I are going to make sure she gets what’s coming to her.”

“But—!”

Alix was silenced by the look that both Adrien and Marinette gave her. She rolled her eyes. “Fine, _Mom and Dad._ You two better know what you’re doing.”

Adrien smirked. “If you’re here then that means we’re doing something right, wouldn’t you say?”

“Heh. Touché.”

When the three returned to the classroom, Marinette and Adrien were able to get away with their tardies by saying they got stuck near the akuma during lunch. As for Alix, she was given frowns and looks of confusion from their classmates as Ms. Mendeleiev marked her down for running out in a fit earlier.

Adrien really hoped he got the full story eventually. But for the moment, he was just glad that Marinette could calm the girl down before another akuma plagued their day.

Now that he thought about it, why was Marinette not in class by the time he arrived back? Was she actually somewhere near the akuma during the fight?

He decided to ask her on paper as they did their physics lab, so as not to attract the attention of their teacher or classmates.

When Marinette read the note, she froze, looking unsure on how to answer.

The longer she stayed silent, the more uncomfortable she seemed to become and Adrien felt bad for putting her on the spot.

“Sorry, if it’s something you want to keep secret, there’s no need to tell me.”

Marinette smiled sadly. “I just don’t want to lie to you of all people, Adrien. It’s better I don’t say anything at all.”

Adrien stopped fiddling with the wires from their lab. “Me? Why me?”

Marinette’s eyes widened and she seemed to choke on her words. Adrien tried to figure it out himself.

“Am I…that special of a friend?”

Was he hoping for too much?

No. Marinette closed her eyes and took a deep breath at first, but it turned into the most beautiful smile directed at him.

“You’re very special to me.”

Adrien’s cheeks hurt from how big his own smile was. “Thanks, Marinette! You’re special to me too.” He thought for a second, then whispered, “I…also have secrets that I can’t really tell anyone. But maybe one day I can share it with you?”

Marinette gaped at him and he wondered if it was too much. But then she stuttered out, “Same, uh, s-same here.”

Needless to say, Adrien spent the rest of physics floating on a cloud with his amazing (maybe even best?) friend Marinette by his side.

***

After school, Alix watched as Adrien got in his car and Marinette joined Alya and Nino at the bottom of the school steps. Unbeknownst to everyone but her, Lila was standing near the doors of the school still with a hateful look on her face. She caught Alix’s eyes and yet the look did not change.

Alix shivered. She felt that by trying to call Lila out during lunch like Marinette used to do, she had made herself an enemy. But she had to stand her ground. After all, this liar was building a reputation based on work that Alix’s brother worked hard to earn credibility on.

Gritting her teeth as she glared back, Alix made the resolution to expose Lila. It didn’t matter whether she was Ladybug’s friend or not and whether Marinette and Adrien would help her do it or not.

Jalil was onto something about the ancient Ladybugs of the past and Alix swore on her life that Lila was not going to ruin it.

  
  


_(Ambitiously) Next Time:_

 

_“People aren’t pawns in a chess game or poker chips you can bet with!”_

_…_

_“The Ladybug and Chat Noir that we know now are probably fighting another Miraculous user. These guys from history though, they were fighting against something evil.”_

_“What makes that evil different than Hawkmoth?”_

_“For one thing, I don’t think Hawkmoth is trying to destroy the universe.”_

_…_

_“There’s only one queen around here and that’s Queen Bee!”_

_“That’s what you think,” Marinette muttered. “But I think you’re forgetting about ‘Ice Queen’ Kagami Tsurugi.”_

_“Great idea! Have Adrikins call her in as the cavalry!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you know me, yes, I'm pulling the "Next time on..." shit again. This story has no plot outline whatsoever so I'm literally going to let it go wherever it wants, including an overarching story that goes beyond just exposing Lila. But, I'll keep it rooted in the Lie-la theme that this story was initially intended for. There's just, y'know, going to be more to it now. 
> 
> For all my fellow authors out there who can relate, I basically got held hostage by the "characters and story writing themselves" feeling. We all know those can get wild. 
> 
> Anyway, to fit all those random "Next time on..." quotes in the next chapter, expect a time skip of at least a few weeks and we'll be checking in on our favorite dorks and the progress of their plan (and relationship).


	4. Mold It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of things happen. The scope of the story has definitely expanded. But hey, that also means Chloe and Kagami are officially here now! And the plan moves along...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me apologize now for the mess that is this chapter. I have no idea what happened.

Over the course of the next few days, it was revealed that Marinette’s after school review session idea was a double-edged sword.

While the reviews managed to keep Lila out of Marinette’s hair most days after school and were actually quite helpful for her classmates, it also meant that Marinette couldn’t get out of the sessions every single time either without coming up with an excuse. When Alya pushed her about it at the end of the week, Marinette finally relented.

Adrien had fencing that day while Alya and Nino were going to babysit the twins, so Marinette deliberately moved as slow as she could to her locker and up to the library where the sessions were held. It gave her time to think things over from the week and how her and Adrien’s plan was progressing.

 

_“I heard Jagged Stone wrote a song about you,” Adrien said at one point. Lila looked unsurprisingly smug at Marinette when it happened. That is, until Adrien asked, “Which song was it?”_

_But Lila was good at what she did best and recovered immediately. “He hasn’t actually released it yet. Jagged is super serious about his work and wants it to be perfect before he let’s the public hear it.”_

_A few classmates_ oooh-ed _and_ ahhh-ed _before Marinette dove in._

_Resting her chin in her hand, she mused, “I think no matter what song it is, as long as it came from the heart, then it’s something beautiful. Wouldn’t you say so, Mylène?”_

_Mylène perked up and nodded, leaning closer to Ivan as she did so, prompting him to wrap an arm around her and smile softly. Marinette wanted to swoon like Rose was known to do._

_“You of course aren’t obligated to share your songs with anyone besides each other, but I bet you two could make such amazing music together.”_

_“Ooh ooh ooh!” Rose jumped up and down in excitement. “I heard Ivan writes_ amazing _songs! You could write something with Mylène for Kitty Section! You’re already an_ awesome _drummer.”_

_Smiling proudly at her classmates who all began to talk about their collaboration, Marinette noted with satisfaction how Lila gripped her pencil so hard it snapped. She and Adrien fist bumped under their desk._

 

_“I became friends with the animals of the safari in Africa,” Lila casually mentioned when Kim was once again talking about racing the zoo animals. “I hold a deep bond with all of them now and they were able to communicate tips to me about how to run faster.”_

_Marinette felt her eye twitch. This was one of the more absurd lies to date._

_“Oh really?” Kim asked, interest piqued. “Then you wouldn’t mind a race down the Champs-Élysées avenue to see who’s faster?”_

_Lila went a little pale but she grinned despite that. “I would totally take you up on that but I tore a ligament in my knee last week when I ran to catch an injured bird falling out of a building in the countryside. I hadn’t stretched properly.”_

_Their classmates expressed their condolences at that. Kim was more put out than anything._

_Leaning over his desk, Adrien tapped on Kim’s shoulder. “You’re a pretty amazing athlete, Kim.”_

_Kim grinned proudly at that._

_“But isn’t it a little, I guess,_ mean _to put people on the spot when you challenge them?”_

_“Huh? What do you mean?”_

_“Your dares and challenges always seem to be you trying to prove that you’re better at something than others. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll take you one on one at basketball or lacrosse any day! But I think you’re peer pressuring when you publicly challenge people to beat you at something you’re already super good at. It’s especially so for new people like Lila who might find it hard to say no like we all do.”_

_“Oh.” Kim frowned. “You make a good point, Adrien. Tell you what, I’ll apologize to Lila at lunch and afterward I take you up on that basketball challenge.”_

_Marinette raised an eyebrow as she watched the boys shake on it, but then shrugged. Maybe Kim was learning._

_(Also, she got a free pass to watch Adrien play during lunch. That will always be a win in her book.)_

 

Having known most of her classmates since childhood, Marinette was very happy to see the people they were starting to become. She was immensely proud to call them her friends.

But with Lila’s arrival, the lot of them seemed to be reduced to shadows in the background of the blinding light that Lila presented herself to be. After her initial anger at all the lies, Marinette became saddened over the days with the knowledge that her friends were all so compelled by grandiose stories of a person they viewed as more incredible than them.

It made her realize that she had done the same with Adrien, due to her crush on him. As she fell more and more in love with him, she began to use his opinion of her as the measure of her worth. But, with the help of Tikki and all the people closest to her, Marinette realized that she was more than that.

Just like how her classmates were more than a mindless mob that Lila could control to serve her whims.

They obviously didn’t see the situation the way Marinette and Adrien did because the lies were never disproved in front of them by a reliable source (which was technically Ladybug in both their cases (huh, guess Lila did have a reason to hate the superhero like she did)).

The other exception now was Alix, who hadn’t shown up to school ever since the day she became in the know. Marinette had asked around and according to Nathaniel, Alix had left on a trip to Egypt with her father and brother and wouldn’t be back until the next week. Well, it certainly explained why Alix wasn’t answering texts or seeing Marinette’s messages on Facebook.

With Alix gone and Lila still having a firm grip on the rest of the class, Marinette had been feeling a weird sort of disconnect with everyone aside from Adrien. Sure, she still spoke with Alya every day and they hung out as often as possible, but there was a discomfort in the air when they were together. Marinette had read plenty of stories where friendships broke off because of a common love interest, but she’d be damned if her friendship with Alya was ruined due to a girl Marinette could almost say she hated.

The circumstances still annoyed Marinette to pieces, but with the lack of confrontation she’s had with Lila recently, she hoped Alya was finally understanding that there were some people Marinette simply wasn’t going to like. (The harder part was convincing Alya that it had little to do with jealousy at this point).

Finally entering the library and approaching the table in the back corner, Marinette realized that she may have set her expectations too high for her best friend.

For there was only one person present, slumped in a chair and impatiently drumming their fingers on the table.

As class rep, Marinette got brief reports on how the review sessions went, including the number of attendance. Ever since the first session, there was always at least three people, including Lila. But today…the day Marinette was finally pressured into going…  

_Oh._

Marinette was going to _kill_ Alya.

…

[Did you know about this???]

[I know youre at fencing practice right now but please dear gods above i need SOMEONE to support me here]

[You probably dont even know what im talking about lmao]

Marinette frantically sent text after text to Adrien in an attempt to calm herself for the first five minutes that she and Lila sat in awkward silence pretending to look through textbooks. In a normal situation, she would have texted Alya a long string of incoherent messages, but in this special case, Alya was definitely not an option. She just hoped Adrien didn’t end up annoyed with how she was blowing up his phone even while knowing he couldn’t answer.

“I’m surprised you showed up.”

Marinette fumbled with her phone and almost dropped it when Lila broke the silence.

“I’m surprised you’re actually studying,” she retorted. “Realized you can’t lie your way through a test?”

Lila scowled back at her. “Please. I’ve got our teachers wrapped around my finger and passing this year will be a breeze.”

Sliding her physics book to the side, Marinette leaned closer across the table, truly curious. “And how far do you expect your lies to take you? All the way through lycée? Through university?”

“As far as I need to go,” was the immediate response.

“And you’re not afraid that they’ll entangle you one day?”

“It won’t happen. Not if I’m careful enough.”

Marinette scoffed. What part of lying about a slew of celebrities was being careful? Especially when all the famous names Lila’s used are closer than the girl thinks.

“What about all the people you’re lying to? You don’t feel any guilt or shame that everything they know about you is a sham?”

Lila’s lips twitched downward for a second before she smirked. “Why should I? And why should you feel anything for them either? They abandoned you like that,” she snapped her fingers. “I’ll admit, you’re smarter than the rest of them, Marinette. So you should also know that all our classmates will ever amount to is to be followers of those they know are greater than them. And between the two of us, that seems to be me. Try as hard as you want to bring them back to you, it’ll be easy to get rid of anyone who strays, like little Alix.”

Marinette grit her teeth. “You’re disgusting.”

The smirk on Lila’s face dropped.

“People are people, human beings. They aren’t just pawns you can move around or sacrifice however the fuck you want on a chess board or some poker chips you can throw away in a game. You know what you’re doing is wrong, and yet you continue to lie and manipulate them anyway. It’s what makes you a monster.” Marinette stood up and gathered her things. “Obviously coming here was a waste of time.”

“Oh? And what’ll our _precious_ classmates think when they hear you abandoned me after saying I was a hopeless cause?”

It made Marinette weary to even think about it, but she smiled confidently anyway. “No need to worry your pretty little lying head about it.”

She walked around the table to leave the library but paused momentarily next to Lila. She tapped the open textbook in front of the girl and said as she walked away, “We haven’t covered that topic in class yet. I suggest you start with the chapter before it.”

Marinette exited the open library doors feeling slightly better than before and figured she’d go sketch in the courtyard while waiting for Adrien’s practice to finish up. However, she didn’t expect to run into Kagami who looked far more interested in her than usual.

The fencing girl leveled Marinette with her steely gaze before saying, “So that’s the girl who’s been distracting him.”

All Marinette could do was gape.

…

"En garde! Prêts? Allez!"

She moved into his space first, her foil flying. He stepped back and parried before stepping forward to make a riposte. Unfortunately, she successfully made a circle parry and caught him, flicking her foil to catch him in a valid target area.

“Halt!”

As the instructor critiqued him on his work that day, Adrien shoved his mask to the top of his head, feeling a little more than frustrated with himself. When D’Argencourt moved on to the other fencers, Adrien’s better opponent approached him.

“Is this going to become a constant thing?”

He raised his eyebrow at Kagami. “What?”

“You’ve been too easily distracted by your girl troubles. If you’re really serious about keeping your target, at least use a firm and steadfast technique to deal with it.”

Adrien sighed. “There you go talking about ‘targets’ again. I’ll have you know I’m not distracted by that for once.”

He knew he wasn’t convincing Kagami of anything as her unimpressed face remained unchanged. She then looked at something over his shoulder and frowned.

“I stopped by the library during our break to borrow some books. I think your target can handle herself just fine.” And with that, she bid him goodbye as practice ended, leaving him hanging with his unfinished question.

“My target…?”

“Hi Adrien!”

Startled, he dropped his foil. When he reached down to pick it up, his hand met a familiar smaller hand and his head bumped into someone else’s.

“Ack! Sorry!”

“No, no, it was my bad, Marinette.”

They stood back up and walked together to the locker room so Adrien could grab his belongings (and Plagg).

“Did…” Marinette began nervously. Adrien looked at her curiously but patiently. “Did Kagami say anything…out of the ordinary to you?”

“Uh…” Sure, Adrien was sometimes confused by Kagami’s cryptic metaphors, but that was actually the norm for her. “Not really. Why? Did she say something to you? She did say she was in the library earlier. Isn’t that where you were?”

“It was. Speaking of! Alone I was! Lila! With her!”

Adrien was almost smacked in the face with one of Marinette’s flailing arms as he tried to open his locker. He turned to her when he finally unlocked it. “You were all alone with Lila? How did that happen?”

Crossing her arms with a glare, Marinette muttered, “One of Alya’s schemes, I’m sure. She pulls the same crap when trying to get me alone with yo—I mean, the boy I like.” She turned pink, making her look quite adorable.

Something buried inside Adrien wilted a little, but he ignored it. Instead, he grinned teasingly. “A boy? Who is it that could possibly capture the princess’s heart?” Was it Luka?

Stammering, Marinette practically shouted, “No one you need to concern yourself with!” She took a deep breath. “Anyway, we were talking about something else. I’m pretty sure Kagami caught me talking with Lila in the library. She might be aware of the situation now too.”

“Kagami, huh?” Adrien wasn’t surprised. From what he knew of her, Kagami was the sort to look for the motives in people and would be able to spot a liar’s true intentions from a mile away. “A shame she doesn’t go to this school then. She could be a great help.”

Marinette pouted. Adrien wanted to pinch her cheeks. But that was probably not going to go over so well. Instead, he tilted his head in question. Marinette obliged him with a begrudged answer.

“I think you and I are doing well on our own. Especially with Alix gone for who knows how long. I think we make a great team.”

Grinning widely, Adrien put out a fist. “You know it.”

Marinette smiled back and tapped the fist with her own.

***

Weeks passed and everyone at Collège Françoise Dupont grew used to seeing Marinette and Adrien practically attached at the hip during school. When they weren’t lingering about their classmates, they were quietly conversing with each other at their seats. During lunch they disappeared to who knows where and even Alya and Nino easily lost track of them. The free time between the end of classes and their after school curriculars was spent with them in close proximity to one another.

And it didn’t even seem intentional. The two seemed to gravitate toward each other, as if going through the motions of a celestial orbit. Like it was what the universe intended. It was amusing and adorable for some of their classmates to see. It was maddening and inconceivable for a select few others.

It shouldn’t have surprised Chloé then, that they would find their way to each other during the animated Ladybug and Chat Noir movie premiere as well: Adrien as a voice co-star and Marinette as a server.

“We have to do something about this, Dupain-Cheng!”

“But, ah, Kagami isn’t so bad. I’m not so sure about this plan of yours… It seems like typical Chloé meanness.”

“Weren’t you the one who said ‘All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing’? Well today she is the evil and the good people are us!”

“I wouldn’t call her _evil_ , per se…”

“Because of her, Adrien could be on a plane to Japan _tomorrow._ Look! Their parents are even signing papers together!”

Sure enough, Nathalie and Ms. Tsurugi were discussing over some serious looking documents at their table.

Something about it didn’t sit well with Marinette, but neither did deliberately ruining Kagami’s beautiful outfit.

Adrien once told Marinette that Kagami was one of the most perceptive people he knew, which probably helped her greatly with fencing and other sports. And it was for this reason that Marinette knew this wasn’t going to end well.

“Kagami will know for sure that this is a plot that we came up with. She’d hunt us down and bite our heads off!”

“I don’t take you for a coward, Dupain-Cheng, but either you’re scared or you’re playing at Miss Goody Two Shoes.”

“It’s just,” Marinette sighed, “isn’t there a better way to go about this? It feels like we’re trying to make the choice for Adrien on who he hangs out with. It—doesn’t it make you feel like we’re becoming his father?”

At that, Chloé gave pause.

“Look, Chloé,” Marinette began softly, “for the past few months, especially after you became Queen Bee, I’ve started to see this really good change in you. I know I once told your mom about how terrible you are and because of that, you and her have had a better relationship. But, no offense, it makes you a complete bitch.”

Chloé gave an affronted scoff.

“But you know what I believe? I believe you and your mom can find common ground that you can build your relationship upon that doesn’t include ruining other people’s days and even lives. You’re capable of that. I know it.”

Chloé looked at Marinette for a moment, speechless. Then she recovered and scoffed again. She flicked her hair and turned her nose up. “Have it your way, Dupain-Cheng. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were in love with Adrikins or something, thinking about his well-being and all that gross stuff.”

Marinette’s cheeks pinkened, but thankfully Chloé didn’t see. She gave a small smile though as she said, “You care about him a lot. I can tell. Deep, deep down I’m sure that childhood friend that Adrien always talks about is still there.”

Chloé spluttered a bit, blushing heavily. She couldn’t seem to come up with a response, so she turned sharply and walked away.

Marinette sighed in relief. The heavy feeling in her gut was going away. She straightened her shoulders and picked up her tray of macarons,

She’ll take a more normal approach than what Chloé was thinking. At this point, Marinette was very comfortable with Adrien. Surely she could walk up to him (and Kagami) and offer him her perfectly made passionfruit macaron like it’s no biggie.

Placing her packaged delicacy on the tray, Marinette made her way over.

“Hey, Adrien! Macaron?”

“Hi, Marinette! I should have expected that the best bakery in Paris would be catering this event.”

As much as Marinette wanted to stare at Adrien as he reached for a macaron, she tore her gaze away to give Kagami a friendly smile and gestured to the tray. Surprised, Kagami merely nodded back and picked up a macaron as well.

Marinette would’ve said that the event went smoothly after that, but the one time Adrien wasn’t the center of her attention, things had to go wrong.

See, Adrien had picked up a regular macaron while a passing guest snatched up the single packaged dessert as if the whole tray would disappear if he didn’t.

Needless to say, Thomas Astruc broke out in hives and was promptly akumatized scant minutes later.

All in all, Marinette’s day was no different than any other, but she felt like some progress had been made on her relationship with Adrien and, surprisingly, on her acquaintanceship with Kagami as well.

(She’ll have to send a thank you card to Thomas Astruc, the movie director, for the premiere pass!)

***

“You know, you were talking a tough game this weekend about doing good and evil and all that pizzazz, Dupain-Cheng.”

Startled, Marinette dropped all the change she was about to put in the cash register at the front of her parents’ bakery. She scrambled to pick it all up before she popped her head over the counter to see Chloé with her hands on her hips and tapping her foot impatiently.

“Uh, what are _you_ doing here?” Marinette asked, standing up.

“I’ve been thinking about what you said and something doesn’t add up.”

Huh. Was it just Marinette feeling a bit of deja vu? She’d have to ask Tikki later.

“Feel free to elaborate whenever you’re ready,” Marinette said distractedly. She gestured behind Chloe. “I’m working right now and you’re in the way of actual paying customers.”

Chloé turned around, looking like she was preparing to go off on the people behind her, but their collective stern no-nonsense gazes made her pause. Promptly turning back around, Chloé lifted her chin and told Marinette she would be waiting for her upstairs and made her way through the backdoor without invitation.

Marinette just rolled her eyes before giving her customers a friendlier smile.

Half an hour later, Sabine relieved Marinette of her duties, giving an apologetic look for making her _friend_ wait for so long. Marinette laughed to herself at that. It was probably good for teaching Chloé patience.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” she asked when she walked through the front door.

Chloé made a quick movement to hide the fact she was enjoying a plate of mille-feuille that Sabine had set out for her, but Marinette was too adept at perceiving fast motion. Chloé could complain all she wanted about the bakery, but Marinette didn’t know a single soul in Paris that didn’t enjoy the pastries and bread that her parents made.

Covering her full mouth with a hand, Chloé managed to get out, “Lila,” before hastily chewing and swallowing the food in her mouth.

“Ah,” Marinette replied before taking a seat across from the other girl at the kitchen counter. “And what about Lila? Here to tell me you’re moving on to bullying _her_ because I’m not worth it anymore? Or maybe you think _I’ve_ become the new bully in the class seeing as how I’m always in the wrong regarding Lila.”

Oops. Marinette didn’t mean to let all of that out. But there was just something about Chloé that made it so easy to verbally let all the negativity out in the open. After all, it was always with Chloé when Marinette was at her snarkiest.

“It’s the exact opposite, Dupain-Cheng.” Chloé straightened in her seat and crossed her legs, placing her hands together in her lap. The posture was very reminiscent of Audrey. “You know perfectly well what kind of poser Rossi is trying to be with all those god awful lies, but I haven’t seen you do anything about it recently.”

Marinette snapped her fingers and pointed at the other girl. “ _Recently_. That’s the key word. You were there back when I tried to disprove the lies. Don’t you remember how that turned out?”

A scoff. “You’ve never been a quitter.”

Raising an eyebrow, Marinette replied almost disbelievingly, “Wow. A compliment from the great Chloé Bourgeois.”

Chloé waved the comment away. “No need to thank me. Point is, you’re planning something and I want in.”

“In? What makes you think there’s anything to get _in_ on?”

Chloé paused, taking time before she slowly answered. “Sometimes, I can read the atmosphere of the people around me. It’s easiest with the class because I’m always around you lot of losers. There’s a pattern to how things work, a routine. Ever since we were kids I ruled over everyone and you all rightfully feared but loved and respected me.”

Marinette couldn’t keep her eyes from rolling.

“But ever since, I think when Adrikins and Cesaire joined our class, something changed. And I think it started with you.”

Not sure how to take it, Marinette confusedly responded, “Thanks??”

“I didn’t say it was a good thing!” Chloé nearly shouted in her face, before she mumbled more quietly, “But I guess it was a good thing.”

“Oh. Thanks.”

“My point is!” she actually shouted this time, “that another big change is happening and it feels, _off,_ almost wrong. And I know it’s that liar’s fault.”

Sighing, Marinette felt she would never be rid of Chloe. “Alright, fine. Yes, Lila has been a major pain in my neck with all her lies and I’m slowly working on how to stop her from causing any more damaged than what’s already been done.”

“That’s what I thought,” Chloe said smugly.

“Why does it matter to you so much? She hasn’t done anything to you. Never mind what you said about the class ‘aura.’”

“Atmosphere! It’s the class _atmosphere_ that feels weird, not that aura mumbo-jumbo.”

Marinette raised her hands up. “Hey, even if you meant aura, I wasn’t trying to offend. So what’s in it for you if Lila gets dealt with?”

Chloe sneered. “Isn’t it obvious? There’s only one queen around here and that’s Queen Bee!”

“That’s what you think,” Marinette dismissed. She jokingly added, “But I think you’re forgetting about ‘Ice Queen’ Kagami Tsurugi.”

Chloe gasped. “Great idea! Have Adrikins call her in as the cavalry!”

“Wha—the cavalry?”

…  

And that’s how Marinette found herself on a Wednesday evening in one of the most high end restaurants Paris could boast of, seated at a round dining table that probably cost more than her parents’ bakery, accompanied by three of her richest peers.

Between Chloe’s self-important smirk, Kagami’s resting glare face and Adrien’s sunny model smile, Marinette suddenly felt that she was getting into something way over her head.

But one glance down at her purse where Tikki was giving her a most supportive and warm look, and she felt again that she could deal with anything the world threw at her.

She took a deep breath. When she raised her head, it was Ladybug who looked through Marinette’s eyes.

***

“I’m not telling you again, Alix, just forget about that lying girl. I’ve submitted much of my research to my peers and professors long before she re-joined your class.”

Alix pouted and threw her arms out emphatically, causing her flashlight to shine frantically about the long granite corridor she and her brother were walking.

“But Jalil! She said she heard the facts from Ladybug herself! Ladybug is the _center_ of your thesis, of all your research. What if her stories get to those professors and they believe her? All my classmates _and_ teachers do. They could throw all your findings away.”

“Like I said before,” Jalil sighed, pushing his slipping glasses back up his face, “they would have to believe the words of a fourteen-year-old versus that of a highly credited archeologist _in the field_ of their expertise. Remember, dad has been my sponsor throughout this whole process and everyone knows better than to accuse him of nepotism. If he believes and supports me, then surely I can’t be spouting fabricated history.”

Alix just frowned harder, prepared to argue her point some more, but she was distracted by the massive chamber that she and Jalil just entered.

Torches were lit along the walls every ten feet, the brightness supported by some durable electric lamps sitting in each corner of the room. Ancient paintings and hieroglyphs adorned the walls in neat rows, giving the impression of a story being told. A statue of Anubis loomed tall over Alix’s small stature even from its place at the far wall across the room.

At the center stood a pedestal adorned with bright colors: symbols of the sun and moon and stars, of fire and rain and wind, of life and death and being, of creation and destruction and balance.

Wait.

Alix tilted her head. How did she know that?

“Jalil…what was it that you wanted to show me?”

Instead of answering her, Jalil approached the pedestal and placed a hand on the flat surface on top before turning around to look at her.

“Please tell me you feel it too.”

“Feel what?” She pointed at the pedestal. “That weird voodoo coming from that thing?”

He nodded slowly. “So you do feel it. Further support for my theory.”

“Theory?”

“Yes. The aura and—I’m still not sure how to describe it— _messages_ emitting from this room can only be perceived by those who have been akumatized. Dad and most other archeologists just see it as another chamber among dozens under this pyramid. But there were two others on this expedition who could feel what we’re experiencing right now. It was pure coincidence that I realized they were akumatized at some point while no one else had been.”

Alix gasped. “So that’s why you were so convinced that this place had information about Ladybug!”

Jalil smiled. “I had to dig around and examine a lot of old reference material, but I eventually gathered enough evidence to make a compelling proposal for the department board. Because of that, I kept quiet about the past-akuma bit.”

“I guess I understand why.” Alix finally walked closer to her brother and the pedestal. As she did so, a pressure seemed to increased on her mind and body until she reached out and touched the stone herself. The pressure then gave way to a feeling of being submerged underwater, but without the wetness. “Whoa, this is trippy.”

“It’s like you can understand the whole universe now, isn’t it?”

Nodding, but then shaking her head, Alix tried to articulate the feeling. “Light and dark, up and down, good and bad. There’s a flow between everything. No…boundaries. But a balance.”

“Right. Now come here.”

Jalil took his sister’s hand and led her to the statue of Anubis. Alix suddenly felt a chill creep up her spine. When she took a closer look at the paintings surrounding the statue, she realized with unexpected dread that the images portrayed a battle and death. Lots and lots of death. And, not quite darkness, but a void. A figure wearing a ladybug pattern and another dressed as a cat were shown to be fighting desperately against that…void. Black hole? What was it?

 _Nothing_ , a not-quite voice whispered in Alix’s mind. But that didn’t make sense, how could you fight against nothing?

“Jalil,” Alix called quietly, “what does this mean?”

“The Ladybug and Chat Noir we know right now, they’re fighting another Miraculous user, right? At least, we can assume so, what with how many Miraculous have seemed to pop up recently. I thought these paintings were showing another battle between Miraculous holders, but when I cross-referenced this with other ancient texts from, say, China, I found the same story being told that had nothing to do with akumas or villains. All of the heroes from history, they were fighting something truly evil.”

“What makes Hawkmoth different from that evil?” As soon as she even thought the question, the knowledge wrapped itself around Alix like a sweet caress. Jalil probably felt the same sensation, but he answered her anyway.

“Well, I doubt Hawkmoth’s goal is to destroy the universe. Which, I think, is what is practically happening in these instances in history. Thankfully, such events don’t show up within at least a millennia ago.”

Alix grimaced.

“Hey, bro. You know that saying, ‘History repeats itself?’”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that you have read the chapter, let me just say that I am totally lost as to how half this chapter came to be, particularly...the ending lmao. I think being bombarded by the newest episodes made weird ideas and words come out of my brain. Rest assured though, the backbone of this story is still the duo's quest to put Lila in her place. Just. With some extra plot. 
> 
> Also! When there's Lila, there's gotta be Hawkmoth, right? After all, the girl's practically working for him at this point. I gotta incorporate it into the story somehow... 
> 
> Anyway, leave me any thoughts you have on this newest and longest chapter! Complain about the lack of Adrinette lol, I only just noticed it as I was copy and pasting the text. But it's getting real interesting now, no?
> 
> Update: I just realized that I released this chapter almost the same day that the first image of a black hole was released. Coincidentally, I wrote that whole last scene the day I posted as well. Totally doesn’t have any connection... No really, no connection but maybe I can do something with that.


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